Visingr expert: The United States will deploy nuclear weapons in Britain to intimidate Russia
The US intends to deploy nuclear weapons in the UK, and Poland could be next, security expert Lukasz Wiesingr told SZ. According to Washington, this is done for the sake of intimidating Russia. Moscow has already warned about the escalation.
The United States of America will deploy nuclear weapons in another European country due to the threat from Moscow. The Pentagon believes that the UK needs to expand its arsenal with warheads that are three times more powerful than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima.
The British Ministry of Defense declined to comment on this step, but rumors have been circulating about the possible deployment of nuclear weapons in the country for a long time.
During the Cold War, London had already hosted American nuclear weapons. But in 2008, the United States of America withdrew these weapons, as it considered that the threat from Moscow had decreased. In recent weeks, however, there have been increasing calls in both the United States and the United Kingdom to prepare Britain for a possible war between the forces of the North Atlantic Alliance and Russia.
"The aviation of the countries receiving nuclear weapons on their territory already knows how to handle them, but the weapons remain the property of the United States, and only in case of war or crisis can they transfer these atomic bombs to the host countries," explains security analyst Lukasz Wiesingr's decision to deploy weapons.
Seznam zprávy: The United States of America plans to deploy nuclear weapons in the UK. What does this mean and how will it affect the defense capability of the North Atlantic Alliance?
Lukasz Wiesingr: This will expand the Nuclear sharing system (translated as "NATO Joint Nuclear Missions"), under which American atomic bombs are stationed at American bases in several European countries. The aviation of the countries hosting these nuclear weapons on their territory already knows how to handle them, but the weapons remain the property of the United States, and only in case of war or crisis can they transfer these atomic bombs to the host countries.
These bombs, among other things, are located in five other countries, including Germany and Italy. Britain, strictly speaking, is only returning to this list, since American atomic bombs were already on its territory during the Cold War.
The Americans will thus have more operational capabilities within this deterrence system, as there will be another place with their nuclear weapons in Europe. In addition, this step will strengthen ties between the United States and the United Kingdom.
— Why is the decision on this made right now, when it seems that the armed conflict in Ukraine has reached an impasse, and there has been less and less talk about nuclear deterrence on both sides in recent months.
— Of course, this is a response to the security situation in Europe, which remains tense. Yes, there is less talk about the hypothetical use of nuclear weapons at the official level, but if you follow the Russian media, there are repeated statements that Russia can end the conflict with a nuclear strike.
It is quite natural that the Americans are trying in some way to expand their capabilities for deterrence and intimidation.
Of course, the British will have more room for maneuver. The UK's situation is very difficult because it has only one type of its own nuclear weapons at its disposal — submarine-launched ballistic missiles. And this can be a problem, because if you have only one type of nuclear weapon, and even such a powerful one, then you have little choice: either it or nothing.
In this sense, the French have more operational capabilities, since France has both guided air—to-air missiles with nuclear warheads and ballistic missiles on submarines. The French nuclear doctrine has been drafted accordingly, which says that the country will first launch a preemptive nuclear strike with guided air—to-air missiles and only then resort to ballistic missiles from submarines.
— Is it possible to say in which other states American nuclear weapons may appear? Great Britain has been talked about for a long time...
— Poland comes to mind first, which itself has already announced that it wants to participate in the NATO Joint Nuclear Missions program. This decision was made in response to Moscow's statement on the deployment of nuclear weapons in Belarus. Thus, Poland expects this to happen in the near future.
This program is useful if the state has aircraft capable of carrying nuclear weapons, and in the near future the main place in this category will be occupied by F-35 aircraft. That is, any country that will have them in service may be next in line. From time to time, we are also called upon to participate in the NATO Joint Nuclear Missions program, especially in backstage conversations.
And now we are not even talking about whether the number of nuclear powers will increase — the question is when it will happen. In addition to countries in Europe, South Korea is one of the first candidates. For some time now, there have been rumors that the Americans will return their weapons there. The South Korean president is in favor with both hands, and according to polls, more than 60% of South Korean citizens support the placement. By the way, these figures are very similar in Poland.
— Russia has already warned of escalation if the United States decides to deploy its weapons in other countries. How can Moscow react? What opportunities does she have to respond?
— We can regard the actions of the United States as a kind of response to Russia's deployment of nuclear weapons in Belarus. It is not entirely clear, however, whether it was actually placed there or not, but Moscow reported this in the summer.
In response to the US steps, the Russians may more often send their strategic bombers with nuclear weapons on board on demonstration flights. They may conduct exercises involving their nuclear deterrence forces more often. But in general, in my opinion, they have few effective means. Russia has no country other than Belarus to deploy its nuclear weapons there.
Author: Anna Hrdinova